2 weeks Ago By Stephen Tipper
Lethbridge’s police chief faced a disciplinary hearing Thursday over a lunch meeting he had with the service’s chaplain over four years ago. Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh is accused of two counts of misconduct, for violating a public health order by taking a member of the public out for lunch in March 2021, and for denying he had done anything wrong when confronted about it by complainant Scott Woods, a former deputy chief and interim police chief who retired in 2022. A third count of discreditable conduct was withdrawn at the beginning of Thursday’s hearing, held at Lethbridge city hall.
Mehdizadeh, LPS chief since Aug. 30, 2020, admitted Thursday that he took LPS chaplain Aaron Moore for lunch on March 11, 2021 at Umami, a grocery store with tables where customers can eat. They had soup during a 20- to 30-minute lunch, a thank-you gesture from Mehdizadeh for the volunteer’s work with Lethbridge police at a time when LPS morale was low.
They were masked and appropriately distanced, said Mehdizadeh, who couldn’t recall if he was in uniform or plain clothes during that lunch. The LPS chief said he knew that only people who were in the same cohort could, at that time, dine together, but believed that the chaplain was part of his cohort. He explained that LPS had been permitted numerous exceptions to the COVID-19 rules, such as partners being able to be in the same vehicle and the LPS gym being allowed to be open.
“Based on that, I felt the chaplain was part of my cohort,” he said. Related'Amazing tools for law enforcement': Lethbridge police officially add another service dog to its canine unit'Amazing news': Lethbridge crime down last year, say police But, during a meeting four days later with senior management, Mehdizadeh said he learned he was wrong and apologized to the four senior officers, including Woods. “I took responsibility and apologized,” said Mehdizadeh, who agreed that police officers are held to a higher standard than the general public.
But breaking COVID-19 rules was “not something I did regularly,” he said. Asked by presenting officer Valerie Campbell if he would do anything differently, Mehdizadeh replied he would have ordered food in to consume in his office. Woods, with his office door open, said he had overheard a conversation March 11, 2021 between the chaplain and Mehdizadeh’s assistant about the police chief and Moore going for lunch.
But Woods, who admitted his relationship was “not good” with the police chief, said he didn’t say anything that day to Mehdizadeh about the lunch. “I was just processing what was going on,” said Woods. Complaint filed in 2022 Woods filed a complaint against Mehdizadeh in January 2022, saying he felt obligated as deputy chief to file it.
An Edmonton Police Service investigation identified 16 allegations, but it was determined 10 were either time-barred under the Police Act or that Woods did not have standing. The six other allegations were dismissed as being frivolous, vexatious and lacking an evidentiary basis. But Woods appealed the decision to the Law Enforcement Review Board, which in 2024 said it didn’t have jurisdiction to take on the 10 allegations which had been found to be time-barred or without standing.
The review board agreed with the dismissal of three other allegations, but found three should proceed to a hearing. During Thursday’s hearing, Mehdizadeh said he first heard about Woods’ complaint when it was submitted in January 2022. Mehdizadeh’s lawyer, Dan Scott, said during closing arguments that an apology was what the community would expect, not that the police chief be disciplined.
He asked for the two counts against Mehdizadeh to be dismissed. Campbell said presiding officer Brett Carlson, a Lethbridge lawyer and Lethbridge police commission member, must decide if Mehdizadeh’s actions were “sufficiently discreditable” and whether he deserves to be sanctioned for them. The hearing is scheduled to reconvene on June 16, when Carlson is expected to deliver his decision.
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